A casual perusal of allmovie.com’s entry for Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece debut Citizen Kane, in which a reporter seeks the hidden meaning of the title character’s last word (“Rosebud”), yields the adjectives literate, sweeping, atmospheric, enigmatic, poignant and melancholy. Whether or not New Orleans duo Baby Rosebud derived its name from that movie is anyone’s [...]
“While many artists would coast the middle of the road in mediocre lyrics and unassuming chords, Blackfire Revelation treated the dividing line like the Plague. One must have an opinion of the soulful rock ‘n’ roll of the Blackfire Revelation.” So reads the bio of this two-person, New Orleans hard rock revival. Mindful of his [...]
Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper-the pair of New Orleans natives that comprise the electronic, ambient techno duo Telefon Tel Aviv-came together in 1999 to produce a four-song demo that they sent to Chicago electronica label Hefty records. “We FedExed the demo to [Hefty Records owner] John Hughes,” says Eustis. “He was probably like, ‘Who the [...]
Keith Ferguson, Parker Hutchison and Arthur Mintz of World Leader Pretend In March of each year, the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference (a.k.a. SXSW) temporarily transforms Austin, Texas into the planet’s music industry headquarters with countless musical acts showcased to thousands of attendees. Among those hoping to become The Next Big Thing is [...]
Just down the street from Baby Rosebud accorganist Courtney Lain’s place of employment, there is a movie filming about the corporate takeover of a small mom and pop cereal store called Flakes. The fact that Lain’s place of employment, the small, independently owned and community minded coffee shop Z’otz, is being evicted over a dispute [...]
“I see a lot of bands who play this kind of music get frustrated and leave New Orleans. I love this city, and I don’t plan on moving,” says Micah McKee, singer, guitarist and songwriter for the folk-pop group Silent Cinema. His response is in stark contrast to many “indie rockers” who, when confronted with [...]
Why don’t rock bands in New Orleans ever hit the big time? Ask around, and you’ll get a variety of excuses from disgruntled scenesters: “New Orleans doesn’t support the rock community.” “There’s no music business infrastructure here.” “Commercial radio ignores local bands.” “You have to sell out to get on a major label.” These issues [...]
With her lilting British accent and a name straight out of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly is a tailor made introduction paragraph for lazy music writers. But there’s much more to this former Billy Childish protégé than movie allusions and cheap metaphors about the timelessness of her music. Golightly began her career with Childish’s garage [...]
Regular readers of local entertainment publications and OffBeat’s Dis ‘n’ Dat column may notice something amiss. Namely, that as of last month I did not work here and, perhaps more importantly, I am not Bunny Matthews. There is no cause for alarm! The powers that be have seen fit to make me Associate Editor of [...]
